


Ain't No Hero (Fanmix)

by Gryph



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Community: waywardmixes, Cover Art, Digital Art, Fanart, Fanmix, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-12 10:51:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/810752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gryph/pseuds/Gryph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl Dixon will be the first person to tell you he “ain’t no hero”. Before the zombie apocalypse, he was just another red-neck, petty-criminal punk. But somewhere along the way, he started saving people. And that’s what heroes do, save people. Spoilers for S3. Made for Round 15: Heroes and Villains at <a href="http://waywardmixes.livejournal.com">waywardmixes</a>. Art, tracklist, and download link</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ain't No Hero (Fanmix)

**Ain’t No Hero  
A Daryl Dixon Fanmix by Gryph**

[](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/gryphon2k/657089/50310/50310_original.jpg) [](http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/gryphon2k/657089/50175/50175_original.jpg)  
[download](http://anonym.to/?https://www.box.com/s/ymfts61xba74kkc0cfnb)

* * *

**Merle**

Daryl wanted to save his brother Merle, but change didn’t come easily to Merle. In their childhood, Merle was supposed to save and protect Daryl, his baby brother, from their drunk and abusive father. Instead, Merle went away—a pattern he would repeat.

While Merle was in Woodbury with the Governor, Daryl was evolving into be a decent human being, finding a place in the group as Rick’s lieutenant, as someone they could count on to help keep them safe. When Merle and Daryl were reunited, Merle tried to drag Daryl back down to his level. Instead, Daryl raised Merle up to his.

And in the end, he helped his brother find some redemption.

_I didn’t know he… (Merle)  
Yeah you did. He did the same to you. That’s why you left first. (Daryl)_

**Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are by Meat Loaf**  
And when the sun descended and the night arose  
I heard my father cursing everyone he knows  
He was dangerous and drunk and defeated,  
and corroded by failure and envy and hate  
  
There were endless winters and the dreams would freeze  
No where to hide and no leaves on the trees,  
and my father's eyes were blank as he hit me again and again and again  
  
I know I still believe he'd never let me leave, I had to run away alone  
So many threats and fears, so many wasted years,  
before my life became my own  
  
And though the nightmares should be over,  
some of the terrors are still intact  
I'll hear that ugly, coarse, and violent voice,  
and then he grabs me from behind, and then he pulls me back

 

_You talk a big game, but you was never there. You ain't here, now; some things never change. (Daryl)_

**Flawed Design by Stabilo**  
When I was a young boy  
I was honest and I had more self control  
If I was tempted I would  
Run  
Then when I got older I began to lie to get exactly what I wanted when I wanted it  
And I wanted it  
Now I'm having trouble differentiating between what I want and what I need to make me  
Happy  
So instead of thinking I just act before I have a chance to contemplate the consequence of  
Action  
  
And I will turn off  
And I will shut down  
Burying the voices of my conscience hitting ground  
And I will turn off  
And I will shut down  
The chemicals are restless in my head  
  
Cause I lie  
Not because I want to  
But I seem to need to all the time (need to all the time)  
Yeah I lie  
And I don't even know it  
Maybe this is all a part of my  
Flawed design

_Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails. (Daryl)_

**I Don’t Care by Apocalyptica**  
I try to make it through my life,  
In my way there's you...  
I try to make it through these lies  
And that's all I do  
  
Just don't deny it,  
Just don't deny it  
And deal with it,  
Yeah, deal with it  
You tried to break me  
You wanna break me  
Bit by bit  
That's just part of it.  
  
If you were dead or still alive,  
I don't care,  
I don't care  
And all the things you left behind,  
I don't care,  
I don't care

  
_You’re nothing but a freak to them. Red-necked trash. That’s all you are. Yeah, they’re laughing at you behind your back, you know that, don’tcha? Well I got news for you son, one of these days they’re gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dogshit._ _Ain’t nobody ever gonna care about you ‘cept me, little brother. Ain’t nobody ever will. (Merle)_  


**Epiphany by Staind**  
I am nothing more than  
A little boy inside  
That cries out for attention  
Yet I always try to hide  
Cause I talk to you like children  
Though I don't know how I feel  
But I know I'll do the right thing  
If the right thing is revealed

  _I may be the one walkin’ away, but you’re the one that’s leavin’...again. (Daryl)_  


**Shake It Out by Florence + The Machine**  
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't  
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road  
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope  
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat  
'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me  
Looking for heaven, found the devil in me  
Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me, yeah

* * *

**Sophia and Judith**

Daryl surprised the entire group of survivors with his tenacity in searching for Sophia. He tells Andrea that when he was lost in the woods as a child, no one looked for him. He goes out to look for Sophia alone and ends up badly injured, but he still won’t give up. He doesn’t give up until the moment he sees Sophia lurch out of the barn, already a walker. He sees Sophia’s death as a personal failure.

His protectiveness of children shows through again when Judith is born, and he becomes her self-appointed savior and protector. He’s determined not to lose her, not on his watch, since he is the default leader of the group while Rick is out of his mind with grief.

When he and Merle leave the group for a while, Daryl saves a family with a small baby from walkers, then points his crossbow at his own brother when Merle threatens them. This reminder that he is needed drives him back to the group—his new family, he realizes—leaving Merle to decide if he will follow or go his own way.

_It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna find that little girl; she's gonna be just fine. (Daryl)_

**Live Forever by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors**  
Some people say faith is a childish game  
Play on, children, like it's Christmas day  
Sing me a song, sing me a melody  
Sing out loud, you're a symphony  
  
I want you to live forever  
Underneath the sky so blue

_It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl. (Daryl)_

**Hope for the Hopeless by A Fine Frenzy**  
Stitch in your knitted brow  
And you don't know how  
You're gonna get it out  
Crushed under heavy chest  
Trying to catch your breath  
But it always beats you by a step, all right now  
  
Making the best of it  
Playing the hand you get  
You're not alone in this  
  
There's hope for the hopeless

_You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did for her in his whole life. (Carol)_

**I’d Come For You by Nickelback**  
I was blindfolded, but now I'm seeing  
My mind was closing, now I'm believing  
I finally know just what it means to let someone in  
To see the side of me that no one does or ever will  
So if you're ever lost and find yourself all alone  
I'd search forever just to bring you home,  
Here and now this I vow.

_That's not my little girl. It's some other... thing. My Sophia was lost in the woods. All this time, I thought. But she didn't go hungry. She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago. (Carol)_

**The Distance by One Less Reason**  
And I come to save you  
But I couldn't remember your face  
So I closed my eyes and called out your name  
And when I found you, you were slipping away  
So I had to do what’s best for you

_No. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. (Daryl)_

**Sorry by Stanfour**  
All the words that I come up with  
They are like pourin' oil on flames  
(Will you believe in me)  
There's no excuse, no explanation  
Believe me if I could undo what I did wrong  
I'd give away all that I own  
  
When I say I'm sorry  
Will you believe me  
Listen to my story  
Say you won't leave  
When I say I'm sorry  
Can you forgive me  
When I say I will always be there  
Will you believe

* * *

**Carol**

 

Daryl begins to draw close to Carol when Sophia disappears. Before that, he seems to spurn her, angry at what he sees as her weakness and unwillingness to stand up to her abusive husband. Perhaps he is reminded of his own weakness at the hands of his abusive father.

Carol is the one who sees the man he could become, telling him he’s as good as Rick, that he’s earned his place in the group, that he’s earned their trust. He pushes her away at first, because he knows that caring opens him up to getting hurt. But Carol is relentless in her gentleness, not letting Daryl pull away to lick his wounds after Sophia’s death.

After Daryl saving Carol’s life at the farm and again in the prison, she saves him right back. Because he’s already a hero in her eyes.

_You act like you don’t care. (Dale)_   
_That’s because I don’t. (Daryl)_

**Savior by 30 Second to Mars**  
Until you give  
Until you've used  
Until you've lost  
Until you lose  
Until you see, how could you believe?  
Until you've lived a thousand times  
Until you've seen the other side  
This is my chance, this is my chance  
  
Don't save me, don't save me, cuz I don't care

_Selfish? Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took an arrow and a bullet in the process. Don't you tell me about getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people. (Daryl)_

**Monster by The Almost**  
If I were a monster  
Would you wince  
When you looked at me?  
If I were a freak would you stare?  
If I were a leper  
Would you say unclean?  
If I was lost,  
Would you help me get free?

_Just go! I don’t want you here! You’re a real piece of work, lady. What, are you going to make this about my daddy or some crap like that? You don’t know jack. You’re afraid. You’re afraid ‘cause you’re all alone. You got no husband. No daughter. You don’t know what to do with yourself. And you ain’t my problem. Sophia wasn’t mine! All you had to do was keep an eye on her! (Daryl)_

**In Another’s Eyes by Garth Brooks**  
And what they don't see is killing me  
And it's a blessing and a curse that love is blind  
  
In another's eyes  
I'm afraid that I can't see  
This picture perfect portrait  
That they paint of me  
They don't realize  
And I pray they never do  
'Cause every time I look I'm seein' you  
In another's eyes

_Daryl has his code. The world needs men like that. (Carol)_

**Beside You by Marianas Trench**  
When your tears are spent on your last pretense  
And your tired eyes refuse to close and sleep in your defense.  
When it's in your spine like you've walked for miles  
And the only thing you want is just to be still for a while  
  
If your heart wears thin I will hold you up  
And I will hide you when it gets too much  
I'll be right beside you  
Nobody will break you

_I know he’s your brother, but he’s not good for you. (Carol)_

**Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) by Jacob Artist**  
I can see the pain behind your eyes  
It's been there for quite a while  
I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile  
I would like to show you what true love can really do  
  
Let me love you  
And I will love you  
Until you learn to love yourself  
Let me love you  
I know your trouble  
Don't be afraid, girl let me help  
Let me love you  
And I will love you  
Until you learn to love yourself  
Let me love you  
A heart of numbness, gets brought to life  
I'll take you there

* * *

**For all the rest**  
(Bonus Track)

_I didn’t do nothing that Rick or Shane or Dale wouldn’t have done. (Daryl)_   
_You’re every bit as good as them. Every bit. (Carol)_

**Heroes and Friends by Melissa Etheridge**  
You can't take a trip  
If you don't first say goodbye  
You can't find a star  
If you don't look up in the sky  
You can't find a light  
If you don't know where the dark ends  
And you can't change the heroes and friends  
  
You can't light a spark  
If you don't first carry a flame  
You can't take the weight  
Of a single ounce of shame  
You can't change the signal  
Just the message that it sends  
The message of the heroes and friends  
  
Why do we sacrifice our lives?  
To what is left when it all ends  
When all we want is heroes and friends


End file.
